Carbondale Alerts
Carbondale Police Press Release - Homicide Arrest
NEWS RELEASE
City of Carbondale, Illinois
December 16, 2024
For Immediate Release
CARBONDALE – On March 19, 2024, City of Carbondale police officers responded to the 100 block of South Hewitt regarding an elderly female who was unresponsive. Officers, as well as other emergency medical responders, attempted life-saving efforts but were unable to revive the woman who was identified as the resident, Shelby Winfield (85 years of age).
Carbondale Police officers and detectives, assisted by the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office, continued to investigate the circumstances leading to Winfield’s death for several months. As a result of that investigation, on December 13, 2024, a Jackson County arrest warrant was issued for the arrest of Winfield’s son, William L. Walters, 65 years old of Carbondale, on two counts of First Degree Murder. Carbondale officers and detectives located Walters in the 100 block of North Tower Road on December 13, 2025 and arrested him on the warrant without incident. Walters is incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the City of Carbondale Police Department at (618) 549-2121. You may also call the Carbondale/SIU Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (618) 549-COPS (2677) or the Murphysboro/Jackson County anonymous tip line at (618) 687-COPS (2677). Anonymous tips may also be made by selecting the “Crime Stoppers” tab on this website’s main page. Please help yourself and your county, its communities, and the university campus by using these numbers if you witness or have any information about a crime. Cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest are also made anonymously. Remember, crime doesn’t pay, but Crime Stoppers does!
The mission of the Carbondale Police Department is to work in partnership with our community to preserve life, protect human rights, protect property and improve quality of life by providing police service to all in a fair, sensitive, and professional manner.